KUCHING: Sarawak registered 328,009 international arrivals between Jan and Feb this year compared to only 6,604 over the same period in 2022, marking an increase of 4,866.82 per cent in the year-on-year growth of tourist arrivals to the state.

Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said this at a press conference at Mulu Room, Bangunan Baitul Makmur 2 here yesterday.

“We have a growth of 4,866.82 percent, which is very encouraging.

“Bulks of the foreign visitors from neighbouring countries are from Brunei which has opened its border, while the European visitor arrivals are mostly from the United Kingdom, followed by Germany,” he said.

“This is good for our economy,” he added, while citing the foreign exchange rate which holds equal importance in the travel and tourism sector.

With a total of 643,000 domestic and international travellers recorded for this year’s first two months, Abdul Karim is optimistic that the number of international arrivals will continue to rise in order to achieve its targeted three million tourist arrivals.

“If we can have over 300,000 arrivals every month, we can even hit four millions. But I’m a bit worried now because between July and September, we have so many events being held. I’m worried if our hotels in Kuching will have enough rooms to accommodate our visitors,” he said of his concerns.